Authored by Gabriel Eidelman & Shoshanna Saxe, Canadian Standards Association, May 2024

This report proposes four policy principles to reduce embodied carbon in Canada’s housing sector. It highlights how current climate plans focus on reducing operational energy use but neglect emissions from construction materials and methods. Drawing on lessons from leading jurisdictions like Denmark and the UK, the report advocates for translating technical solutions into public policy to address the environmental impact of new construction.

Keywords: Architecture/Engineering, Climate Change, Construction/New Buildings, Energy Efficiency/Management, Healthy Buildings, Zero Net Energy, Embodied Carbon, Sustainability, Housing Policy